


Down On The Waterfront

by IBoatedHere



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety, Christmas, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, crowds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 06:58:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9310325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBoatedHere/pseuds/IBoatedHere
Summary: The waterfront is packed.Jack has never seen this many people along the bank of the river. He didn’t even know there was this many people in Providence.





	

The waterfront is packed.

Jack has never seen this many people along the bank of the river. He didn’t even know there was this many people in Providence.

It’s freezing and everyone is bundled up in puffy jackets so squeezing between bodies to get to where they want to be is a challenge. There’s a string of _‘sorry’s’_ and _‘pardon me’s’_ that don’t seem to get them anywhere so finally Jack just gives up and apologizes to his mother in his head for how rude he’s being as he muscles his way through.

He can hear Bitty laughing behind him and feel the warmth of his hand in his own through the gloves they’re wearing.

Jack holds on a little tighter and not just because he’s worried about losing him in the crowd.

“Jack, oh lord, Jack,” Bitty says through trills of laughter when Jack finally breaks into an opening. They’ve got about five feet to themselves but Bitty still presses in close and jams his face into the cashmere of Jack’s scarf. His breath forms clouds in the air in front of him when he straightens up. They curl away into the night air. “Are you broken? Did that break you? That had to kill you to be that aggressive in a crowd.”

“I tried to be polite and it didn’t work so….”

“Are they going to let you back into Canada after a stunt like that? Are you banned?”

Jack shrugs and wraps an arm around Bitty’s shoulders. “I’ll have to stay here then.”

Bitty snakes an arm underneath Jack’s coat to catch some extra body heat. “I’m not complaining.”

Jack presses a quick kiss to his forehead then looks back towards the river. He can barely see the boats over everyone’s heads so he knows Bitty won’t be able to see a thing.

“Sorry, Bits. I just had to get out of there.”

They had a perfect spot but there were too many people. Too much noise.

“Oh honey, don’t worry about it.”

“But now you can’t see.”

“Jack, I’d rather have you out of a stressful situation than watch a bunch of boats lit up with Christmas lights.”

“But the boats are nice,” Jack says and Bitty can’t stand the frown that’s found it’s way onto his boyfriend’s face.

“Come over here.” He drags Jack by the elbow further away from the water and hops up on a low brick ledge that surrounds a tree completely wrapped up in Christmas lights. Bitty only mildly complains that the majority of people he’s surrounded by on the ledge are children as he positions Jack in front of him and drapes his arms over his shoulders. “Can you see,” Bitty asks, hot breath tickling his ear. Bitty’s lips brush the shell of it when he nods. “Can you breathe?”

Jack nods again and takes a deep breath just to prove his point. He can feel Bitty’s smile when he leans in and kisses his cheek.

They watch the boats slowly sail down the river just like that. Bitty, solid and warm pressed up against his back with his hands linked together above his heart. He’ll whisper comments about the boats or people passing by into Jack’s ear that make Jack laugh and twist around to kiss the side of his neck.

When the last boat sails by there’s a mass exodus of people trying to get back to their cars but Jack and Bitty hang back. Bitty takes a seat on the ledge and Jack leans back against it and they wait it out until it’s just the two of them and a few stragglers down by the edge of the water.

He made it the whole night without being recognized. The hat and the lighting and the general excitement of the upcoming event helped and he could have done this sooner but there’s no time for regrets when he cups Bitty’s face in his hand and kisses him.

“Thank you, Bits.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to thank me.” He hops down and holds a hand out to Jack who immediately takes it. “But you do have to get me some hot chocolate because I’m getting real cold.”

Jack tucks Bitty into his side and they start off towards the parking lot.

He has another idea in mind for how to warm Bitty up.


End file.
